Modern cities are witnessing a rapid rise in the volume of transportation of goods and people. This rise regularly outpaces the growth of transport infrastructures such as roads, and thus stresses the commute network and creates traffic issues that tax the well-being of populations and economies. A widely accepted policy for addressing these problems is to convince more people to use public transport as the preferred way to commute. Success of such policies depends on whether the commuters can trust the public transport as a reliable means to reach their destinations. Shortcomings in the public transport may affect the commuters' trust in the transportation. Some of the common problems include irregularities in scheduling, waiting time at designated stops, and the commuter's inability to adjust a commute route in case of a forced departure from planned travel route.
With the advent of mobile devices, local transport schedules or maps in various electronic formats can be forwarded to the commuters' mobile devices. The transport schedules and maps, however, are static information that are not necessarily up to date and do not always adjust to the instant changes in the traffic flow. Disruptions, such as roadblocks or broken-down vehicles, for example, can delay a scheduled arrival or make a public transport route wholly unavailable. As a result, the commuter cannot rely on the static information for accurate planning.
Moreover, commuters often prefer mechanisms that customize the vast amount of information in the maps and schedules to the specific goals and preferences of the commuter. These goals and preferences may include the commuter's destination, schedule, preferred cost limits, or preferred comfort level. Commuters demand a reliable public transport mechanism that can get them to their destination on time, irrespective of the disruptions in the traffic flow, and in accordance with their preferences.